Music holding lyre for a musical instrument

ABSTRACT

A music holding lyre for a musical instrument comprising a clamping mechanism especially constructed for holding either one or more paper sheets of music or a music holder of the type including a generally flat rigid supporting member for hingedly supporting sheets of music and having projecting means projecting from opposite surfaces thereof, and novel mounting means for mounting the lyre to a musical instrument.

United States Patent Johnston [451 Apr. 4, 1972 [54] MUSIC HOLDING LYRE FOR A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT [7 2] inventor: Herbert L. Johnston, Columbia City, ind.

[73] Assignee: Plastl-Music Company, Inc., Evansville,

Ind.

[22] Filed: Jan. 19,1970

[2|] Appl.No.: 8,154

Related US. Application Data [62] Division Of Scr. N0. 702,633, Feb, 2, i968, Pat. N0.

52 u.s.c| ..24s/231,24/279,24s/221 s1 Int.Cl. ..o10gs/oo 5s FieldofSearch ..248/23l,230,226,221,74;

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,084,936 1/1914 Forbes ..339/25l 2,222,577 11/1940 Thomspon "324/279 X 2,421,443 6/1947 Torresen ..248/74 Primary Examiner--J. Franklin Foss Attorney-Johnson, Dienner, Emrich, Verbeck and Wagner [57] ABSTRACT A music holding lyre for a musical instrument comprising a clamping mechanism especially constructed for holding either one or more paper sheets of music or a music holder of the type including a generally flat rigid supporting member for hingedly supporting sheets of music and having projecting means projecting from opposite surfaces thereof, and novel mounting means for mounting the lyre to a musical instrument.

3 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAFR 41912 3,653,623

' sum 1 0F 2 0 fnuenfon flev ei BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a portable music holding lyre adapted to be mounted on a musical instrument.

Because a structure of this type conventionally has the general appearance of a stylized lyre, it is often referred to as a lyre and will usually be referred to in that manner hereinafter. Such a device generally comprises a clamping mechanism and mounting means for mounting the clamping mechanism on a musical instrument.

In a patent to Lawrence B. Johnston US. Pat. No. 2,915,849, issued Dec. 8, 1959, for a Music Holder, there is disclosed a music holder which comprises a series of transparent sheet music holding envelopes top-hinged to a generally rigid supporting member which is supported by a clamping portion of a lyre. The lyre comprises a face plate adapted to engage one of the two opposite broad surfaces of the supporting member and the face plate is provided with apertures to receive means projecting from one of said surfaces. Associated with the face plate is a pair of spring-actuated prongs adapted to press against the other opposite surface to hold the supporting member against the face plate. The combination of such a conventional lyre and a sheet music holder of the above mentioned type has proved to be widely accepted in the music industry, principally for use in marching bands.

While such a combination gives efficient service in many applications, under the demands of present day fast-step marching band choreography, there is a tendency for sheets of music or for the supporting member of a music holder to become dislodged from and to shake free from the lyre during shaking or rocking movements of the musical instrument. There is a need for an improved lyre to securely hold the sheets (or sheet) of music or supporting member of a music holder under these conditions.

SUMMARY It is the object of this invention to provide an improved lyre, to meet the above stated need, comprising an improved clamping mechanism which is adapted to hold securelythe music in various forms, such as a single sheet, multiple sheets, a march size music book or a supporting member of a music holder of the above-mentioned type.

It is a further object to provide a novel mounting means for mounting the clamping mechanism to amusical-instrument.

It is one feature of this invention that the improved clamping mechanism is adapted to hold the supporting member of a music holder in such manner as to substantially eliminate any tendency of the supporting member to become dislodged from or to shake free from the lyre. To this end, the improved clamping mechanism is adapted to generally flatly engage and to be biased against both opposite flat surfaces of the supporting member, and it is adapted to cooperate with the projections projecting from both opposite broad surfaces of the supporting member to restrain the supporting member from rotating, tilting or slipping with respect to the clamping mechanism.

It is another feature of this invention that the improved clamping mechanism instead may be used to securely hold one or more ordinary music sheets, either unbound or bound into an open-lying booklet.

It is an object of my invention to provide a novel means for mounting the lyre to a musical instrument, said mounting means being adapted to accommodate itself to various standard sizes of an instrument, such as a clarinet for example. It is an advantage of said mounting mechanism that its parts, which include a nut member, are so constructed that the nut member cannot become separated from the associated part and become lost.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following description.

In order to acquaint those skilled in the art with the manner of practicing this invention, there will be described, with the aid of the annexed drawings, the presently preferred embodiment of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a back elevational view of a music holding lyre embodying the principles of this invention, comprising a clamping mechanism and mounting means for removably mounting the clamping mechanism to a musical instrument having a cylindrical portion;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the lyre of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a left side elevational view of the lyre of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective fragmentary detail of the clamping mechanism of the lyre of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective fragmentary detail of the mounting means for the lyre of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective fragmentary detail of alternative mounting means which may be used in place of the mounting means of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective fragmentary detail of yet another form of mounting means which may be used in place of that of FIG. 5, certain portions being broken away;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a music holder of the type which the lyre of FIG. 1 is adapted to hold, comprising a supporting member and a plurality of sheet members top-hinged to the supporting member;

FIG. 9 is a back elevational fragmentary detail of the clamping mechanism of the lyre of FIG. 1, holding the supporting member of the music holder of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a front elevational fragmentary detail corresponding to FIG. 9; and

FIG. 1 1 is a vertical sectional fragmentary detail taken substantially along section line 11-11 of FIG. 9, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Considering FIGS. 1 through 5, there is illustrated a lyre 20, which embodies the principles of this invention, comprising a clamping mechanism 22 and mounting means 24 for mounting the clamping mechanism 22 to a musical instrument (not shown), such as a clarinet, having a generally cylindrical portion.

The portable music stand 20 is adapted to hold a music holder 30, which is illustrated in FIGS. 8 through 11, comprising a generally flat rigid sheet-like supporting member 32 and a plurality of sheet members 34 top-hinged to the supporting member 32 by hinge means 36. The sheet members 34 represent paper sheets but instead there could be transparent sheet-protecting envelopes adapted to contain paper sheets, as is known. The supporting member 32, which may be made of molded plastic or of some other suitable material, has pairs of projecting means 36a and 38a, projecting from one generally flat surface 40a and corresponding pairs of projecting members 36b and 38b projecting from the opposite flat surface 40b, all of which projections are adjacent one edge portion 42 of the supporting member 32. The supporting member 32 may have additional projecting means 44 projecting downwardly from the middle of edge portion 42.

As indicated principally in FIGS. 1 through 4, the clamping mechanism 22 of the lyre 20 comprises a back gripping member 50, which has a gripping portion 52 and a handle portion 54, and a front gripping member 56, which has a gripping portion 58 and a handle portion 60. The gripping portion 52 of the back gripping member 50, which has the general appearance of a stylized lyre, has a vertical center element 62, a pair of curved side elements 64, a base 66 connected with the elements 62 and 64, an upper crossbar 68 interconnecting the elements 62 and 64, and side whorls 70 continuing from the respective side elements 64. A pair of apertures 72 thus are defined in this gripping portion 52. The gripping portion 58 of the front gripping member 56, which has a general appearance rudimentarily similar to the appearance of the gripping portion 52 of the back gripping member 50 (but for the whorls 70) has a pair of closely spaced vertical rib elements 74, a pair of curved side elements 76, a base 78 connecting the rib elements 74 and the elements 76, and an upper crossbar 80 interconnecting the rib elements 74 and the elements 76. A pair of apertures 82 thus are defined in this gripping portion 58 and apertures 82 and 72 of the two gripping members are of the same configuration.

A generally flat gripping surface 84 is above the base 66 on the inside of the gripping portion 52 of the back gripping member 50. This gripping surface 84 is recessed so as to form a shelf 86, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A recess 88 continuing the gripping surface 84 is formed downwardly from the middle portion of the shelf 86, as shown in FIG. 4. A rib 90 which is interrupted by the recess 88 is provided on the inside of the base 66 just beneath the shelf 86. A pair of laterally spaced concave bearing seats 92 are formed in the inside of the base 66 beneath the lateral rib 90, as best shown in FIG. 4.

A generally flat gripping surface 94 is provided on the inside of the gripping portion 58 of the front gripping member 56, as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A pair of laterally spaced rocker bearing means or studs 96 are provided on the inside of the lower base 78, as best seen in FIG. 4. These rocker bearing means 96 are spaced so as to mate with the bearing seats 92 in the base 66 of the back gripping member 50. The inside surface 98 of the handle portion 60 of the front gripping member 56 is offset outwardly with respect to the gripping surface 94, as best shown in FIG. 3.

The gripping members 50 and 56 are assembled in opposed relationship with the bearing seats 92 receiving the rockerbearing means 96. The apertures 72 then become aligned with the apertures 82. The assembly of the gripping members 50 and 56 may be effected by means of a pair of clamping spring means 100. Each clamping spring means 100 is generally C- shaped and has an end 102 and a knuckled end 104 carrying an integral tab 106 (FIG. 4). If desired, end 102 may also be made a knuckled end like end 104. Laterally spaced seats 108a (FIG. 11) are provided in the outside of the base 66 of the back gripping member 50 to receive the ends 102 of the clamping spring means 100. Beginning at the seats 108a and extending downwardly, a pair of laterally spaced grooves or recesses 110a are provided in the outside of the base 66 of the back gripping member 50 to receive a part of the clamping spring means 100. Laterally spaced seats 108b (FIG. 11) are provided in the outside of the base 78 of the front gripping member 56 to receive the knuckled ends 104 of the clamping spring means 100. Beginning at the seats 108b and extending downwardly, a pair of laterally spaced grooves or recesses 11% are provided in the outside of the base 78 of the front gripping member 56 to receive a part of the clamping spring means 100.

When the gripping members 50 and 56 are held together, the clamping spring means may be snapped into place so as to embrace the rocker bearing means 96, as shown by FIGS. and 11, and so as to engage the respective gripping portions 52 and 58 and thereby to bias these gripping portions 52 and 58 together. The tabs 106 permit the clamping spring means to be withdrawn if desired by means of needle-nosed pliers or similar implement. The handle portion 60 of the front gripping member 56 serves as a thumb tab for opening the clamping mechanism 22. It will be seen that the springs 100 serve the dual purpose of urging the gripping members 50 and 56 together and also of securing the gripping members in assembled relation, with the help of the fulcrum means 92 and 96.

The rocker bearing means 96 and the associated sockets 92 constitute the preferred form of fulcrum means for the gripping members 50 and 56 for they pennit rocking movement with a minimum of friction. The gripping portions 52 and 58 are pressed together by the springs 100 and are drawn apart by pressing the handle portions 54 and 60 toward each other. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, a hinge pin connection supplemented by a torsion spring could be used, but it is not as advantageous.

While the lyre is constructed to securely hold a support member, such as 32 (FIG. 8), of a music holder which carries many sheets of music and frequently in clear plastic envelopes there are occasions when a musician may want to have the lyre hold a single sheet of music. While the sheet could be rested on the shelf 86 (FIG. 4) and gripped by the upper portions of gripping members 50 and 56, this invention provides yet a better way of securing such a sheet as may be understood with the aid of FIG. 3. It may be noted from FIG. 3 that the projecting rib generally engages the base 78 of the front gripping member 56 when the pair of gripping members 50 and 56 are in engagement, or substantially in engagement, under the action of the springs 100. One or more such sheets of paper or light cardboard, which are shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, may be rested upon the rocker bearing means 96 and be pressed by the rib 90 against the base 78 of the back gripping member 56, under portions of the respective gripping surfaces 84 and 94 also coming together to engage the sheets 110 as well. The rib 90 is located at a level where the ends of C-shaped springs are exerting their force against gripping members 50 and 56 and a very strong gripping action is provided on the sheet 110.

The manner in which the clamping mechanism 22 may be used to hold the supporting member 30 may be understood with the aid of FIGS. 8 through 10. The clamping mechanism 22 is adapted to generally flatly engage the flat opposite sides 40a and 40b of the supporting member 32 of the music holder 30, because the rocker bearing means, or studs, 96 are of such length that the inner gripping surfaces 84 and 94 of the gripping members, when separated so as to be parallel, are then spaced apart a distance corresponding to the thickness of the supporting member 32. Thus, .when the supporting member 32 is inserted within the clamping mechanism 22, as shown in FIGS. 9 through 11, the lower edge 42 of member 32 rests on shelf 86, the recess 88 receives the downwardly projecting means 44 of member 32, the gripping surface 84 of the back gripping member 50 generally flatly engages and is biased against flat side 40a of the supporting member 32, the apertures 72 receive the projecting means 36a, and the whorls 70 at their peripheries engage the projecting means 38a. Also the gripping surface 94 of the front gripping member 56 generally flatly engages and is biased against flat side 40b of the supporting member 32, and the apertures 82 receive the projecting means 36b. The apertures 72, the whorls 70, and the apertures 82 cooperate with the respective projecting means 36a, 38a, and 36b to restrain the supporting member from rotating, tilting and slipping with respect to the clamping mechanism 22, and downward projection 44 in recess 88 also serves to resist rotation, slipping and tilting. It is clear that the supporting member 32 may be reversed in position in the clamping mechanism 22, so that the gripping surface 84 of the back gripping member 50 generally flatly engages flat side 40b of the supporting member 32, and gripping surface 94 flatly engages side 40a. The manner in which the clamping mechanism 22 holds the supporting member 32 substantially eliminates any tendency of the supporting member 32 to become dislodged from or to shake free from the lyre 20, even under violent shaking or rocking.

As indicated principally in FIGS. 1 through 3, and 5, the mounting means 24, which is adapted for removably mounting the clamping mechanism 22 to a clarinet or some other musical instrument (not shown) having a generally cylindrical portion, comprises a stem and a generally ring-shaped spring member 122.

The stem 120, which may be of any convenient length, has a first end 124 (FIGS. 3 and 11), mounted to the handle portion 54 of the back gripping member 50, and a second end 126. At

least the first end 124 of the stem 120 is preferably of square cross section. To receive the first end 124 of the stem 120, the handle portion 54 is formed with a slightly oversize square socket 128 (FIG. 11), and aconventional bowed spring fastener 130 is inserted within the socket 128. When the first end 124 of the stem 120 then is inserted within the socket 128, the bowed spring fastener 130 is flattened so as to press the first end 124 of the stem 120 against the wall of the socket 128. Such a bowed spring fastener 130 has a prong 132 which serves to lock it in place in the socket 128.

The generally ring-shaped spring member 122, which preferably is made of spring steel, has two closely approximated ends 134 and 136 which tend to separate somewhat from each other. A tab piece 138 is integrally connected to one end 134 of the spring member 122. An open channel piece 140 is integrally connected to the other end 136 of the spring member 122. It is preferred that the spring member 122, the tab piece 138, and the channel piece 140 be formed in one piece. The spring member 122 is adapted to be resiliently spread open and slipped into place around a generally cylindrical portion of the musical instrument (not shown). It is adapted to generally tightly fit around any generally cylindrical body that is equal in size to or slightly larger than the nominal inside diameter of the spring member 122. A slightly elongated hole 142 is formed in the tab piece 138 and a hole 144, which faces the hole 142, is formed in the channel piece 140. The channel piece 140 is adapted to receive the stem 120 which is bent at right angles (at 146) near its second end 126 and adapted to pass through the holes 144 and 142. The second end 126 of the stem 120 is externally threaded. Fastening means for fastening the tab piece 138 and the channel piece 140 to the second end 126 of the stem 120 comprises a conventional knurled nut 148 adapted to engage the threaded second end 126 of the stem 120. Any other suitable fastening means may be used in place of this nut 148. The channel piece.140 is adapted to restrain the stem 120 from twisting with respect to the spring member 122, and particularly when the stem has a cross section the same as the channel piece 140. One sidewall 150 of the channel piece 140 may be extended with respect to the other sidewall 152, as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 5. The extended portion 154 of this sidewall may be bent at a right angle (at 156) to enclose the stem 120 and immobilize the stem 120 with respect to the channel piece 140. Thereby the stem 120 will be immobilized even if the nut 148 is loosened. This modification is considered to be within the scope of this invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a second form of mounting means 160 which may be used in place of the mounting means 24 to removably mount the clamping mechanism 22 to a musical instrument (not shown) having a generally cylindrical portion. The mounting means 160 comprises a stem- 162 and a generally ring-shaped spring member 164. The stem 162, which may be of any convenient length, has a first end (not shown) which may be mounted to the handle portion 54 of the back gripping member 50 in the same manner as the first end 124 of the stem 120 of the mounting means 24 is to be mounted, and a second end 166. The stem 162 is preferably of square cross section overall. The generally ring-shaped spring member 164 is similar to the generally ring-shaped spring member 122 of the mounting means 24. That is, it has two closely approximated ends 168 and 170; a tab piece 172 integrally connected to one end 168 of the spring member 164; an open channel portion 174 integrally connected to the other end 170 of the spring member 164; an elongated hole 176 formed in the tab piece 172; and a hole 178 which faces the hole 176 and is formed in the channel piece 174. The channel piece 174 is adapted to receive the stem 162 which is provided at its second end 166 with an internally threaded lateral hole 180. Fastening means for fastening the tab piece 172 and the channel piece 174 to the second end 166 of the stem 162 comprises threaded screw means 182 having an enlarged head 183, which screw means is adapted to pass through the associated holes 176 and 178 and to threadably engage the threaded hole 180. Any other suitable fastening means may be used in place of this screw means 182. The channel piece 174 is adapted to restrain the stem 162 from twisting with respect to the spring member 164. Stem 162 may be immobilized with respect to the channel-piece 174 in a manner similar to the manner in which the stern 162 (of the first form of mounting means 24) may be immobilized with respect to the channel piece 140.

In FIG. 7 another form of mounting means 186 is shown. There is a similar ring-shaped spring member 188 having a tab 190 integrally connected with one end 192 of the ring-shaped spring member and having a tubular member 194 integrally connected with the other end 196 of the member 188. Stem 198 is square in cross section, corresponding to the cross section of the inside of the tubular member 194. A threaded member 200 is secured at one end in a hole 202 in the stem 198 and at its other end has an enlarged head 203. When the mounting means is assembled the stem 198 is clamped in the tubular member 194 and cannot be axially removed because the threaded member 200 extends through a hole 204 in the tubular member and through an elongated hole 206 in the tab 190. The nut 208 which is assembled on the threaded member 200 has a threaded bore 210 cooperating with the thread of threaded member 200 and has a larger bore 212 which is slightly larger than the head 203 on the threaded member 200. Since the enlarged head 203 cannot pass through the threaded bore 210, nut 208 cannot become separated from member 200 and become lost.

It will be understood that the clamping mechanism 22 may readily be employed with other stems than the stems 120, 162 and 198 which are illustrated and described above. That is, the stem may have other configurations and may also have its second end 126 of plain, square or other cross section adapted for insertion in a socket of corresponding square (or other) cross section formed on, or fastened to, a musical instrument. This interchangeability with various stems permits the clamping mechanism to be employed with a number of different mounting means and with a variety of musical instruments.

It is apparent that other modifications and variations within the scope of this invention will be suggested by this disclosure to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of this invention should be determined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Means for mounting a lyre which has a supporting stem with a lower end, said mounting means comprising a generally ring-shaped spring member having two closely approximated separable ends, a tab member formed integrally with one end of the spring member, a stem receiving member formed integrally with the other end of said spring member, the stem receiving member providing a socket for non-rotatably receiving said lower end of said stem, the tab member and stem receiving member having aligned holes, and fastening means for connecting the tab member and stem receiving member to said stem, the fastening means comprising a threaded element extending through said holes and having a connection with said lower end of said stem, the threaded element is being integrally formed on the lower end of the stem and said lower end is being disposed at a right angle to the main body of said stem.

2. Means for mounting a lyre which has a supporting stem with a lower end, said mounting means comprising a generally ring-shaped spring member having two closely approximated separable ends, a tab member formed integrally with one end of the spring member, a stem receiving member formed integrally with the other end of said spring member, the stern receiving member providing a socket for non-rotatably receiving said lower end of said stem, the tab member and stem receiving member having aligned holes, and fastening means for connecting the tab member and stem receiving member to said stem, the fastening means comprising a threaded element extending through said holes and having a connection with sad lower end of said stem, the threaded element is being threadable by one end into a threaded hole in the lower end of said stem and having an enlargement at its other end adapted to engage said tab and press it toward said stem receiving member.

3. Means for mounting a lyre which has a supporting stem with a lower end, said mounting means comprising a generally ring-shaped spring member having two closely approximated separable ends, a tab member formed integrally with one end of the spring member, a stem receiving member formed integrally with the other end of said spring member, the stem said lower end of said stem, the threaded element being fixedly secured by one end to the lower end of said stem and at its other end carrying a nut which is threadable thereon and non-removable.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE QF CORRECTEON Patent No. 3,653,623 Dated April 4, 1972 Invent0r( H t L. Johnston It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 6, line 48 (Claim 1, line 13) After "element" delete [is] Column 6, line 50 (Claim 1, line 15) After "end" delete [is] Column 6, line 63 (Claim 2, line'l2) v Change "sad" to --.s aid-- Column 6, line 64 (Claim 2, line 13) After "element" delete [is] Signed and sealed this 18th day of July 1 972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M,FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents v FORM (10459) USCOMM-DC 60376-P69 k .5. GOVERNMENT PRINT'NG OFFICE: 959 c-366-334 

1. Means for mounTing a lyre which has a supporting stem with a lower end, said mounting means comprising a generally ring-shaped spring member having two closely approximated separable ends, a tab member formed integrally with one end of the spring member, a stem receiving member formed integrally with the other end of said spring member, the stem receiving member providing a socket for non-rotatably receiving said lower end of said stem, the tab member and stem receiving member having aligned holes, and fastening means for connecting the tab member and stem receiving member to said stem, the fastening means comprising a threaded element extending through said holes and having a connection with said lower end of said stem, the threaded element is being integrally formed on the lower end of the stem and said lower end is being disposed at a right angle to the main body of said stem.
 2. Means for mounting a lyre which has a supporting stem with a lower end, said mounting means comprising a generally ring-shaped spring member having two closely approximated separable ends, a tab member formed integrally with one end of the spring member, a stem receiving member formed integrally with the other end of said spring member, the stem receiving member providing a socket for non-rotatably receiving said lower end of said stem, the tab member and stem receiving member having aligned holes, and fastening means for connecting the tab member and stem receiving member to said stem, the fastening means comprising a threaded element extending through said holes and having a connection with sad lower end of said stem, the threaded element is being threadable by one end into a threaded hole in the lower end of said stem and having an enlargement at its other end adapted to engage said tab and press it toward said stem receiving member.
 3. Means for mounting a lyre which has a supporting stem with a lower end, said mounting means comprising a generally ring-shaped spring member having two closely approximated separable ends, a tab member formed integrally with one end of the spring member, a stem receiving member formed integrally with the other end of said spring member, the stem receiving member providing a socket for non-rotatably receiving said lower end of said stem, the tab member and stem receiving member having aligned holes, and fastening means for connecting the tab member and stem receiving member to said stem, the fastening means comprising a threaded element extending through said holes and having a connection with said lower end of said stem, the threaded element being fixedly secured by one end to the lower end of said stem and at its other end carrying a nut which is threadable thereon and non-removable. 